God fulfills a mitzvah TB Baba Metzia 86

I dedicate today’s daf to Zoey Diamond, my great-niece’s bat mitzvah.

God’s example teaches us an important mitzvah on today’s daf TB Baba Kama 86. Visiting the sick is a great mitzvah. The rabbis saw the connection between the very end of parashat Lekh Lekh, chapter 17 and the very beginning of parashat Vayera, chapter 18. At the end of chapter 17, Abraham immediately fulfills God’s commandment of circumcising all the males in his camp including himself. When God appears to Abraham in chapter 18 what else could God be doing except visiting the sick?!

“§ The Gemara expounds another verse involving Abraham: “And the Lord appeared to him by the terebinths of Mamre, as he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day” (Genesis 18:1). The Gemara asks: What is the meaning of “the heat of the day”? Rabbi Ḥama, son of Rabbi Ḥanina, says: That day was the third day after Abraham’s circumcision, and the Holy One, Blessed be He, came to inquire about the well-being of Abraham. The Holy One, Blessed be He, removed the sun from its sheath in order not to bother that righteous one with guests, i.e., God made it extremely hot that day to allow Abraham to recover from his circumcision, as he would not be troubled by passing travelers whom he would invite into his tent.” (Sefaria.org translation) As we know from the rest of the story this gambit didn’t work.

The rabbis teach that every time you visit the sick, you remove 1/60 of the illness. I know how important visiting the sick is especially after my bicycle accident. All those visits in the hospital and rehab really helped me on my road to recovery. Those visits showed me how much people really cared about me and demonstrated that I wasn’t abandoned all by myself during the most difficult time in my life. These visits lifted my spirits because of the conversations we had and their thoughtfulness. Some came to study Torah with me while others brought delicious food because the meals the institution served left much to be wanting. Before he left, a colleague recited the prayer for healing over me. That prayer meant so much to me. Now after every visit before I leave, I always recite a prayer for healing praying for a complete and speedy healing on behalf of the person I am visiting.